Concerned that many El Salvadoran, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extension applicants could confront a gap in coverage if United Stated Citizenship and Immigration Services (”USCIS”) cannot process qualified extension applications before March 2009, when TPS is due to terminate, the Service issued a rule on December 15, 2008, automatically extending benefits (including the right to work legally in the U.S.) through September 9, 2009. For employers, the way to determine if an employee is the beneficiary of an automatic extension, one only needs to view the face of the employee’s Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which should state that the holder is an El Salvadoran national and show a notation of either A-12 or C-19. We recommend that readers review the notice of TPS extension, which can be accessed through the link below:  

Rule on Extension of TPS Benefits

As readers may recall, over the Summer, the U.S. Attorney General extended temporary protected status (TPS) for a number of nationals, from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras. The deadlines for applying for TPS are fast approaching. For readers we provide below a link to a practice pointers notice recently issued by the Vermont Service Center which will be processing TPS applications for New York and other Eastern Seaboard states.        

Vermont Service Center Pointers on Applying for TPS

In a previous USCIS notice it was announced that Temporary Protected Status for El Salvadorans has been extended through September 2010. In that notice, it was also advised that the TPS renewal period would begin and end 90 days from the formal publication of the notice in the Federal Register. For the benefit of readers, we provide the link below to the Federal Register notice published today and instructions describing the TPS renewal procedures. The renewal period runs from October 1, 2008 through December 30, 2008. Qualified candidates for TPS extensions should file a renewal of their status as soon as possible plus file a new application for work authorization. To reiterate USCIS’s caution: Approval of a TPS renewal will not mean an automatic extension of employment authorization. Work authorization can be obtained only by way of filing form I-765, with the requisite fee. We encourage the reader to review the Federal Register link below for further details.

Federal Register TPS Notice

For the benefit of readers we provide the link below to information concerning the announcement of USCIS last week that Temporary Protected Status for Nicaraguans has been extended. 

Extension of TPS for Nicaraguans¼/p>

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (”USCIS”) announced today that El Salvadoran nationals on Temporary Protected Status (”TPS”) will be able to extend their status an additional 18 months, through September 9, 2010. According to the USCIS memo announcing the extension, a 90 day re-registration period will open up on the date the extension notice is published in the Federal Register. Below we provide a link to the USCIS memorandum which provides information on who would qualify for the extension and an explanation regarding extension procedures, including how to apply for employment authorization:     

El Salvadoran Nationals Can Extend TPS an Additional 18 Months